Jan 18 Meeting Report – Establishment of “Abraham Accords” Working Group

[johnkarls]

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The Discussion Outline for the Jan 18 meeting is available at viewtopic.php?f=724&t=2291&sid=c621faf7 ... d55c91bf99.

Its Sec. B is entitled “The Iran Nuclear Deal (aka JCPOA) and The Abraham Accords and Realpolitik” and raised the issues of whether we, as a non-partisan public-policy study/action organization, should take additional action.

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Vis-à-vis “The Iran Nuclear Deal (aka JCPOA),” the Discussion Outline noted that we still have a working group on this issue which resulted, inter alia, in our 1/20/2020 letter to President Biden on Inauguration Day which is available for download in “1/20/2021: Reforming The JCPOA To Prevent A Nuclear Holocaust” at viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2021&sid=c621faf76 ... d55c91bf99.

The participants at our Jan 18 meeting agreed that the “Iran Nuclear Deal (aka JCPOA)” Working Group had done, and was doing, a good job. And, in particular, the Working Group’s policy of not sending, at least not as of yet, any additional communications to President Biden was essential to avoid any presumption that our policy stand had an expiration date.

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Vis-à-vis “The Abraham Accords and Realpolitik,” the participants at our Jan 18 meeting agreed that an “Abraham Accords” Working Group should be formed.

Accordingly, each of our 223 members is being invited to join this Working Group IAW our weekly newsletter that follows immediately below.


---------------------------- Original Message -----------------------------
Subject: Your Invitation To Join Our New “Abraham Accords” Working Group + Announcement of the Focus Book For Our Wed Feb 15 Mtg – Future Peace: Technology, Aggression, and the Rush to War by Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Latiff
From: Reading Liberally-SaltLake@johnkarls.com
Date: Fri, January 20, 2022
To: To Each of Our 223 Members One-By-One
Attachments:
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To Each of Our 223 Members One-By-One – for reasons explained in the 4 postings in Sec. 2 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org.


Dear Friends,

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YOUR INVITATION TO JOIN OUR NEW “ABRAHAM ACCORDS” WORKING GROUP

Last week’s e-mail featured the “Discussion Outline” for our meeting this past Wed Jan 18.

The Discussion Outline is available at viewtopic.php?f=724&t=2291&sid=c621faf7 ... d55c91bf99.

Its last section is entitled “Re the Abraham Accords and Realpolitik, IMHO action is desperately needed!!!”

The participants in our Jan 18 meeting approved the creation of this Working Group.

Accordingly, this is your invitation to participate in the Working Group.

If you would like to do so, please reply by this Monday Jan 23 so that the group can get underway.


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OUR FEB 15 FOCUS BOOK

“Future Peace: Technology, Aggression, and the Rush to War” by Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Robert Latiff (U/Notre Dame Press 3/1/2022 – 137 pages sans notes & index – Hardcover $27.00 + shipping or $16.49 Kindle from Amazon.com).

Special offer for anyone living in Salt Lake County –

I inadvertently ordered a new copy of “Future Peace” without remembering that I had already purchased one 9 months ago at the time of the NYC Harvard Club Book Promotion of “Future Peace.”

Accordingly, for the first resident of Salt Lake County who pledges to read the book and participate in our Feb 15 meeting, I will make a present of my new copy and deliver it free of charge to your residence.


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BOOK DESCRIPTION PER AMAZON.COM (quoting from the book’s dust jacket)

Future Peace urges extreme caution in the adoption of new weapons technology and is an impassioned plea for peace from an individual who spent decades preparing for war.

Today’s militaries are increasingly reliant on highly networked autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and advanced weapons that were previously the domain of science fiction writers. In a world where these complex technologies clash with escalating international tensions, what can we do to decrease the chances of war? In Future Peace, the eagerly awaited sequel to Future War, Robert H. Latiff questions our overreliance on technology and examines the pressure-cooker scenario created by the growing animosity between the United States and its adversaries, our globally deployed and thinly stretched military, the capacity for advanced technology to catalyze violence, and the American public’s lack of familiarity with these topics.

Future Peace describes the many provocations to violence and how technologies are abetting those urges, and it explores what can be done to mitigate not only dangerous human behaviors but also dangerous technical behaviors. Latiff concludes that peace is possible but will require intense, cooperative efforts on the part of technologists, military leaders, diplomats, politicians, and citizens. Future Peace amplifies some well-known ideas about how to address the issues, and provides far-, mid-, and short-term recommendations for actions that are necessary to reverse the apparent headlong rush into conflict. This compelling and timely book will captivate general readers, students, and scholars of global affairs, international security, arms control, and military ethics.


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AUTHOR BIO

Robert H. Latiff grew up in rural southeastern Kentucky. He attended the University of Notre Dame on an Army scholarship and received a B.S. in physics. Offered a research grant by the National Science Foundation, he stayed at Notre Dame and earned an M.S. and PhD in materials science. He is also a graduate of the National Security Fellows Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

He retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Major General in 2006. His last active-duty assignment was at the National Reconnaissance Office where he directed advanced research, development, and engineering. He has also served as the commander of the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center.

Dr. Latiff now teaches, and speaks and writes frequently about issues of technology and war. He is also a consultant, providing advice on advanced technology matters to corporate and government clients and to universities.

Dr. Latiff is an Adjunct Faculty Member and chairs the external advisory board of the Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values at the University of Notre Dame and is also a Research Professor at George Mason University, with interests primarily in technologies to support the U.S. Intelligence Community.

He is a member of the Intelligence Community Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Committee on International Security and Arms Control of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

General Latiff is a recipient of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal and the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal.


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We look forward to seeing/hearing each of you on Wed Feb 15!!! Please be well!!!

Your friend,

John K.

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